A large variety of clips exist currently. Many of these clips include magnets to facilitate the clips being coupled to a magnetizable surface such as a refrigerator door or file cabinet. Examples of magnetic clips are shown in the following patents and patent applications:
Cetera, U.S. Design Pat. No. D580,983; Einhorn et al., U.S. Design Pat. No. D271,850; Einhorn et al., U.S. Design Pat. No. D274,127; Wood, U.S. Design Pat. No. D512906; Huang, U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0314643; Killion, U.S. Pat. No. 7,469,869; and Killion, U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,550.
The magnetic clips listed above typically include a first and second member that are pivotably coupled together. A pivot assembly pivotably mates the first member to the second member. The first member is arbitrarily referred to herein as the lower or based member; and the second member is arbitrarily referred to herein as the upper member by a pivot assembly. A magnet is provided for enabling either of the upper or lower member (but usually the lower member), to be magnetically attached to a magnetizable surface such as a refrigerator door.
Wood Design Pat. No. D512906 is one of the most commonly encountered magnetic clips today, wherein the pivot member includes a pair of upstanding pivot bases that are formed on the lower member, and a pair descending pivot bases that are formed on the upper member. The upper and lower pivot bases all include alignable apertures. A pivot pin is extendable through the apertures in the upper and lower pivot bases to pivotably couple the upper and lower pivot bases, and hence, the upper and lower members together. A coil spring has a first end that engages the underside surface of the upper member, and a second end that engages the upper side surface of the lower member. The middle portion of the spring member comprises a plurality of coils that are sized for interiorly receiving the pivot pin.
The spring member serves to bias the object engaging jaws of the upper and lower members to engage each other, and the leverage ends of the clip are biased to be maintained in a spaced relationship. By squeezing together the rearward or leverage ends of the upper and lower members, the jaws at the forward end of the clip are separated, to enable one to insert or remove papers or other materials from the gap between the jaws.
In contrast to the clip shown in Wood, the device shown in the Killion '869 patent contains no springs, but rather relies on magnetic attraction between a first magnet that is held in the upper member and a second magnet that is held in the lower member to attract the jaw ends of the upper and lower members together, so that they will be biased to enable them to hold papers or other materials between the jaws.
Although the devices described above perform their intended functions in a workmanlike manner, room for improvement exists. In particular, room for improvement exists for providing a device that is both sturdy and easy to assemble.
For example, one difficulty with devices such as the Wood '906 device is that it is often difficult to insert the pin through the four apertures of the respective upper and lower base members, while also threading the pin through the spring, so that the pin extends through the center of the coils, and while fighting the spring force exerted on the leverage ends of the members.
Another difficulty relates to strength. For many of the devices, the pivot pin receiving base members are not well suited to withstand harsh forces that may be exerted on the clip. For example, the devices have often been known to break when dropped or when stepped on.
One object of the present invention is to provide a device that is easy to assemble, and that also has strength so as to better resist breaking when forces are exerted on the clip, such as the clip being dropped from several feet above the ground, or the device being stepped on.